Sunday, July 31, 2011

I'm a woman with no self-restraint. I have been shivering with anticipation over the new Chanel Illusion D'Ombres since news of them came out. When the make-up bloggette mentioned that they were out in Singapore, I knew I had to go down town to have a look at them for myself.

I already have some Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill coming my way so I didn't want to get things that would look similar. At least that was the plan. The plan was to get Emerville and perhaps a darker shadow. That's all.

Oops! As you can see, I got a little crazy. I blame it on the store lights, they made the swatches shimmer and shine. I think perhaps I was blinded by the lights and my brain did a shut down and went on auto buy mode.

As you can see, I went home with 4 pots instead of 2. Now for a little self-redemption. Tangs Orchard is having a three day beauty promotion. Every $100 you spend gets you a $10 beauty hall voucher. Illusion D'Ombres go for SGD$52. I scored myself $20 in vouchers which I promptly spent all on Guerlain Rouge Aromatique lipsticks. He! He! Rouge Aromatique lipsticks go for SGD$50.

My spirits were somewhat dampened at the Guerlain counter. The SA was determined to show my other lipsticks other that the Rouge Aromatiques until I specifically told her I wanted to try the RAs. It spoils my lipstick shopping expedition when I don't see names, instead I see numbers on lipsticks. It confuses the bimbo in me. Anyway, I wanted Champ Elysees 165 but it was out of stock. I still want Champ Elysees, it will be mine eventually, Mwah haha!

I will leave you with these pictures to tease you. I'm feeling "evil" today. Swatches and detailed pictures in the near future.

Friday, July 29, 2011

I am recently besotted with Le Métier de Beauté. They are a relatively small and exclusive cosmetic line. They are well-known for their high-quality cosmetics. For their eye shadows, they have this Couches de couleur concept which means when their eye shadows are layered over each other, instead of a muddy mess you get a different colour.

Instead of getting individual colours and worry about how to pair and match them. I decided to take a deep breath, clutch my well used wallet and take a plunge and get the Penelope Kaleidoscope Eye Kit.

(Taken from Nordstrom website)

The Kaleidoscope Eye Kit combines four of Le Métier de Beauté's quadruple-milled velvety eyeshadows in a clever internal stacking system exclusive to the brand. It's the perfect way to create your favorite eye look on the go in a portable, compact kit. Shadows are crease-resistant and long-wearing, in weightless, true-to-color pigments.

Le Métier de Beauté's new summer Penelope Kaleidoscope Eye Kit captures all of the beauty of the Mediterranean panorama. With four opulent shadow shades—Blonde Amber, Pale Satin Amethyst, Bronze Topaz and Black Emerald—the gods would be proud.

This baby costs USD $95. I don't even want to convert this into SGD. This is the most I have ever paid for a single cosmetic item. I don't even want to justify how I'm getting 4 regular pans for a cheaper price. Yes I must be crazy, yes I am a on-line shopperholic and yes I am very vain.

After opening the box, I find the Eye Kit wrapped with bubble wrap and a silver foil like paper. How thoughtful. I was so worried that my eye kit would be damaged during its travels. I did not have to worry at all, Nordstrom always takes great care in packing and this little additional thoughtfulness. I felt like I was opening a treasure actually. After taking care to remove the bubble wrap and foil. I uncover this.

I held it in my hands and went wow! I love love the packaging.

The first layer holds the compact mirror.

There is a silver magnetic catch that holds to top layer in place.

The trays swivel out and secures with a satisfying click which ensures the trays don't swing out.

I apologise but I am a noob when it comes to lighting. I just want to capture the colours as accurately as possible. I literally stuck my eye kit out of my window to try and take better shots.

Blond Amber

Pale Satin Amethyst

Bronze Topaz

Black Emerald

Now on to the arm swatches. This is new so I was a little hesitant to ruin its pristine condition. I would love to swatch it heavily but my heart cried a little when I thought about spoiling the surface. Maybe next time after I used my eye kit for a while, I will give you a better swatch.

The eye shadows are very soft.

You know how sometimes you buy something and when you reach home you know you made a mistake. Well this isn't the case. I feel that my money is well spent. This is one of the nicest eye palettes I own. There is a mix of colours that work so well together.

Just in case you wanted to know what are the ingredients, here it is.

The above is a subtle smoky look I did with all 4 colours to test out the Couches de couleur concept. The colours when layered together became a multi dimensional taupe. It was not a muddy mess at all. I love the Pale Satin Amethyst. It added colour to an otherwise neutral palette. The shadows were long wearing and did not crease at all. They were very easy to blend. Love this!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

My hauls from Delias (not shown), Nordstrom and Amazon Sephora all arrived in the space of a few days. I am a happy happy woman right now.

Nordstrom!

From Nordstrom, I decided to stock up on my favourite skincare brand Kiehls'. They are so much cheaper to buy on-line in large quantities than in Singapore. I splurged and got some Le Metier De Beaute products. I bought the Crème Fresh Tint in Coral Nymph and the Penelope Eye Kit. I received some perfume samples too.

Amazon Sephora!

I could not wait for Sephora Singapore to stock all the shades besides I get them cheaper on-line too. I bought the MUFE Aqua Liners in Mat Black and Iridescent Navy and Stila's Sparkle Liner in Curacao.

Monday, July 25, 2011

I am so glad I trekked to Metro Paragon to get this palette. I only own one other palette which is Oasis that came out in summer 2009 I think.

Tokapi comes in the signature classy black casing with a little difference, a black plastic inset to protect the eye shadows. Quick question, do you keep the insets that you find in many palettes or do you throw them away? I lose mine often.

These were taken when they were in pristine condition.

Sheer gold

Dark chocolate

Shimmery bronze brown

Shimmering taupe

Being the impatient person that I am, I had to try them as soon as I can. My god! The shades are buttery soft and oh so pigmented except for the gold colour. The gold shade is sheer and shimmery. Not meant for an all over lid colour but more of a highlight colour on top of the other colours or at the inner corner of the eyes.The rest of the colours have a rich metal look. Best of all, the taupe is so beautiful! I love this palette.

No primer underneath

The sun was not cooperating. It kept coming and going. By the time I got some bright sunlight, my arm swatch had smudged.

This palette costs SGD $95. Ouch! I know but seriously it is well made and the colours compliment each other. You can do a light day look and transform it into a smouldering night look. It is more of a warm toned palette in my opinion but I bet it will suit almost everyone. Get it before it disappears.